So Long And Goodnight: Why My Chemical Romance Should Not Reunite

With Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy now streaming on Netflix, it has become a super hit within the music scene and beyond. So of course, we begin to see our multi-monthly posts about any sliver of light that My Chemical Romance is getting back together. Compelled by this, I decided to share why this SHOULDN’T happen. Please be aware, if a reunion did happen, we would be stoked for the band and would love to see My Chemical Romance on stage. However, sometimes it’s best if some things stay as is.

Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy is now streaming on Netflix

There are various thoughts in this idea that will be broken down. These ideas include: How The Band Is Immortalized, It Won’t Fulfill What We Think It Will, and The Last Rock Band With Lore. Just remember, that no matter what, every parade you can still go see a marching band.

How My Chemical Romance Is Immortalized

My Chemical Romance is a rare band that has transcended many eras in this scene’s trends and changes. There have always been 15 year old girls walking around with their shirts on from the time they were in their prime into 2019. It’s like they are modern day legends, which we will get to later.

The iconic images, music videos, interviews, etc of everything they have been in minus their current solo endeavors, we see the same look. We see the same style. Everything is frozen in time in those moments from the mid-00s. These are the only images to reflect on the band being and how they looked during this time. Gerard Way either has his bleached white hair or his black long hair with red eye makeup. As mentioned above, other than their current solo projects, My Chemical Romance as a band will forever be ingrained in our minds to look like these images here. Despite them having later records and looks, those seem to be forgotten in the mix of these two eras of the band, making them how most of us will forever see the band portrayed.

What is tragic is when recent photos of Gerard Way surfaced and the internet bullying him and making rude comments about how he looks now.

So with all this being said, My Chemical Romance coming back would have them obviously much older, possibly not looking ’emo’ enough and shattering everything we have known the band to be image-wise, which could and probably would ruin it at the end for some fans, especially the younger ones who literally grew up with this band already being done. This leads to the next point….

It Won’t Fulfill Our Desire Like We Think

We have this nostalgic desire about ourselves to relive our youth and experience it again as we age. Reunion tours and anniversary tours for records seem to be the cliche thing to do now, some want those more than what their favorite band is currently doing. We learn the same thing each time it happens though, despite the band and music being the same, how we thought it to be wasn’t.

Personal testimony, Underoath is my favorite band. My first time seeing them was in 2011 post Aaron Gillespie and after Disambiguation was released. I was thankful seeing them over the next couple years, however had an emptiness inside that I never got to experience them as they had been most of their careers. It wasn’t until 2016’s rebirth tour I saw them with Aaron Gillespie and pretty much many times ever since, but it doesn’t hit like it would have being 16 and watching them in a small club or headlining Warped Tour. I’d trade a recent time for one of those any day.

The same principle can be applied here with My Chemical Romance. There is this romanticizing happening on seeing them come back in all their glory and prime just as it was back then but if they did, that wouldn’t be the case. Sure, we would be happy and excited but at the end of the day it wouldn’t be the same My Chemical Romance we all remember and wish to return.

Moments like this video from MTV will never happen again. This is the band we want back, but wouldn’t be the one we get.

They Are One Of The Last Rock Bands With Mystery

This isn’t really as big of a factor but it does play a role once the first two ideas are heard. My Chemical Romance came onto the scene in the infancy of social media and networking. Even then, interacting and following your favorite bands on the internet as we do now with Twitter and Instagram was not a thing. With newer bands who are popular now, even those such as Bring Me The Horizon, we seem them talking to and interacting with fans on their platforms. Could you imagine being 16 and The Black Parade just drops and you’re talking to the band? Yeah. Never happened.

Again, each member has their own accounts and I’m sure there is some fan interactions happening but like stated above, it’s not the same. My Chemical Romance has this untouchable nature to them because of as we said in the first idea, they are immortalized as is. How we remember them is how they exist in our minds. Anything beyond that is an unknown. Should they come back, that mystery about them automatically is lost, least in my eyes. The cult following they still have that has followed into teens who were in diapers when the band was in their prime wouldn’t be the same. Having that personal connection with the men as that band removes all the mystery that My Chemical Romance still has.

So enjoy Umbrella Academy and all of Gerard Way’s solo music. Support Frank Iero and his music. Support every member of that band doing what they love, now.